Run!

I squinted, trying to make out the figure stepping through the trees. He moved with the kind of grace you’d expect from a predator, tall and broad-shouldered, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

He stopped a few feet away, his gaze locking on mine.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice low and steady.

“I… I wasn’t trying to…” My words trailed off as I struggled to make sense of what was happening.

The man’s expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—something familiar, like I should know him.

“Who are you?” I managed to ask.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, like he was deciding whether or not to tell me.

“My name is Kael,” he said finally. “And you’re not safe here.”

“I’m not safe?” I repeated, my voice rising slightly. “What does that even mean?”

Kael stepped closer, his movements so smooth they barely made a sound. “It means you need to leave. Now.”

The heat in my chest flared again, and I stumbled back, my breath coming in shallow gasps. “What’s happening to me?”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “It’s starting.”

“What’s starting?”

Before he could answer, another howl echoed through the forest, this one so loud it made my ears ring. Kael’s head snapped to the side, his entire body going rigid.

“They’ve found you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Who?” I demanded, panic creeping into my voice.

Kael grabbed my arm, his grip firm but not painful. “Run,” he said.

“What?”

“Run!”

Kael didn’t give me a choice. He pulled me forward, his grip like iron as he dragged me through the trees. My legs scrambled to keep up, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

“Wait!” I shouted, trying to free myself, but his pace didn’t falter.

“There’s no time,” he said without looking back. “If they catch you—”

Another howl pierced the night, closer this time. My stomach churned, the sound clawing at something primal in me.

“Who’s after me?” I yelled, my voice cracking.

Kael ignored me, his focus sharp as he led me deeper into the forest. The trees blurred around us, the moonlight flickering like a strobe. My chest burned, my legs screaming in protest, but I couldn’t stop.

I didn’t know what scared me more—the thing chasing us, or the heat inside me, growing hotter with every step.

Kael suddenly skidded to a halt, throwing out an arm to stop me.

“What now?” I panted, clutching my knees.

“Stay quiet,” he said, his voice low. His eyes scanned the shadows, his muscles taut like a coiled spring.

The forest had gone completely still. Even the wind had stopped, leaving only the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

“Kael—”

A snarl erupted from the darkness, and before I could react, something massive lunged at us.

Kael shoved me aside, and I hit the ground hard, the air knocked from my lungs. I barely had time to roll over before I saw him shift.

Yes, shift.

One second, he was a man; the next, he was something else entirely.

His body contorted, bones cracking as fur sprouted across his skin. In the blink of an eye, Kael was gone, replaced by a wolf almost as massive as the one I’d seen earlier. His fur was dark gray, his glowing silver eyes the only hint of the man he’d been.

The creature attacking us was just as huge, its golden eyes blazing with fury. The two wolves collided with a deafening crash, snarling and snapping as they fought.

I scrambled back, my hands digging into the dirt as I tried to put distance between me and the chaos. My head spun, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.

Wolves. Giant wolves.

And Kael was one of them.

The heat inside me surged again, and I doubled over, clutching my chest. It felt like my whole body was on fire, every nerve ending sparking with electricity.

“Elara!”

Kael’s voice cut through the haze, even though I didn’t see his mouth move. It was like he was inside my head.

“Run!” he ordered, his voice echoing in my skull.

I tried to stand, but my legs buckled beneath me. The fire in my veins was too much, consuming me from the inside out.

“Elara!”

Kael’s shout was distant now, drowned out by the roaring in my ears. My vision blurred, the edges going dark as the heat reached its peak.

And then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

The forest was silent again, the only sound my ragged breathing. I blinked, trying to clear the haze from my eyes, and that’s when I noticed it.

My hands.

They weren’t hands anymore.

Claws.

Sharp, deadly claws tipped my fingers, gleaming in the pale moonlight. My heart raced as I lifted them closer, my mind screaming that this wasn’t real.

But it was.

I felt the strength in my limbs, the heightened awareness of my surroundings. I could hear every rustle of leaves, smell the earthy scent of the forest mixed with something metallic—blood.

“Elara…”

Kael’s voice again, softer this time. I turned my head to find him standing nearby, his wolf form battered and bloodied but still standing.

He stared at me, his silver eyes filled with something I couldn’t name.

“You’ve awakened,” he said, his voice heavy with meaning.

Awakened? To what?

Before I could ask, a chorus of howls erupted all around us, the sound sending a shiver down my spine.

Kael shifted back into his human form, his movements smooth and practiced. He didn’t bother with modesty, his focus entirely on me.

“They’re coming,” he said, extending a hand. “If you want to survive, you have to trust me.”

I stared at him, my mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. But deep down, in the part of me I didn’t fully understand, I knew he was right.

So I took his hand.